Female directors are rare in the film industry, said Bekah MillerMacPhee, which is one thing the LunaFest film festival seeks to address.
MillerMacPhee, Women”s Center assistant director for programs, said the film festival consists of a series of short films that are 15 minutes or less and are made by women, for women, about women.
This will be LunaFest”s 15th year, and its 11th year in Moscow.
For the third year in a row, LunaFest accepted submissions from local filmmakers and will be showing two films made my UI filmmakers.
The films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in downtown Moscow. The pre-show reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and offers appetizers and an open bar for those 21 and over. There will also be raffle tickets for a dollar with prizes including gift certificates, earrings and feminist notecards. The raffle will be drawn during intermission at 8:30 p.m.
General admission for both the reception and films is $12, and $6 for students. For just the films, general admission is $6 and $3 for students. Tickets are available at the UI Women”s Center and at the door.
The proceeds go toward the Breast Cancer Fund, which works primarily on research of environmental causes of breast cancer.
MillerMacPhee said the Women”s Center usually breaks even with the event, but when there are leftover funds, the Women”s Center puts that money toward the Betsy Thomas Scholarship Fund. The Betsy Thomas Scholarship fund is a scholarship for UI students who show dedication and commitment to gender equality.
While the films are based on women, MillerMacPhee said men are encouraged to attend the festival as well.
“A lot of issues that specifically affect women do affect men as well,” MillerMacPhee said, referring to breast cancer, choosing a career and other issues that might affect the female loved ones in men”s lives.
MillerMacPhee said she believes it will be a meaningful experience for all who attend, and she hopes the audience will leave with a new perspective in mind.
“It”s really fun and enlightening to go and see stories about women told from the perspective of women,” MillerMacPhee said.
Marisa Casella can be reached [email protected]